Among many piqued by pic’s exclusion are the producer and helmer of the most likely Oscar replacement, “Manual of Love.” The hit comedy was the runner-up in the local selection committee’s vote.

“Manual” producer Aurelio De Laurentiis has pulled the pic from the race in protest after writing a letter urging the Academy to reconsider its exclusion of “Private.”

“It’s absurd,” De Laurentiis lamented to Daily Variety. “These rules are inadequate. Language no longer necessarily characterizes a national cinematography.

“Transformations in the global film industry … have to be considered,” he declared.

Academy rules regarding eligibility of foreign-language films have come under fire before, most recently in 2004, when Spanish-language pic “The Motorcycle Diaries,” by Brazilian helmer Walter Salles, was refused because its multinational cast and crew prevented it from qualifying as any single country’s selection.

In related news, helmer Subhash Gajurel’s “Basain” (Migration), a film based on a novel by Darjeeling-born Lila Bahadur Chhetri, is Nepal’s entry to the Academy Awards, according to Krishna Malla, a member of the Nepal Film Development Board.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will announce the nominations Jan. 31; the 78th Oscar ceremony will take place March 5.